Always
by Pinkbookworm7
Summary: Katniss' life about 16 years after Mockingjay, and you get to meet her daughter! What other major change has happened in her life? Read to ind out! Sorry, bad at summaries! Just read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note: This is my first fanfic, so please review!I may or may not add more chapters...feedback?**

**DISCLAIMER:I do not own Hunger Games or any of the characters  
**

I'm burning, burning, burning. I'm on fire and the burning won't stop and... "Mother!" The tiny voice broke through my nightmare. "Mother!" Rue said again. "Mother, are you okay?" I look at her face, so beautiful, so innocent, so much like his. She does not yet know about the nightmares, of how those horrible memories are repeated over and over in my mind. She does not yet know about the world before me, or the how I was The Girl On Fire, the symbol of the rebellion, and about me before I was a... "Mother!" Rue once again broke into my reminiscent reverie. "Sorry Darling, I'm fine." "Well, get up! It's almost time for the Feasting!" I sighed. Although the Feasting was supposed to be a time of celebration, for me it is a time of mourning. Meant to celebrate the overthrowing of the Capitol, the Feasting is a holiday taking place on the day that the Reaping was formerly held. For me, I mourned the ones I have loved and lost, whether to death, change, or otherwise. Rue, Cinna, Gale, Prim, and sweet, sweet Peeta, all gone. He wasn't like the others, though. We didn't mutually grow apart, and weren't torn apart. No, he left me. At that thought, my eyes prickled with the hot sting of tears that threatened to come pouring out. "Will you do my hair?" Rue asked. Without responding, I sat down and started braiding her long, blonde hair. Beautiful hair, so much like his...I shook my head to clear the thoughts away. "Snap out of it," I mumbled to myself. He's gone, he left. Left you, left both of you. I finish braiding her hair, then get dressed and do my own. When we are ready, we head outside and start walking towards the square. Once a desolate and dreary place, the square is now a beautiful public gathering space. There are beautiful flowers, lush green grass, and stone paths with a stone plaza at the center of it. Just for today, there are many round tables on the plaza. Lining the stone area are many long tables containing an absurd amount of decadent food. Creamy soups full of meat and potatoes, whole chickens, pigs, cows, and platters of fish. There are many baskets full of fresh fruits and large silver pots of cooked vegetables in sauce. And there was bread, so many loaves and rolls of bread, some from each district. Desserts, cakes and puddings and sweet rolls and cups of hot chocolate and cookies, all so numerous you couldn't count them all. And all of it for us, the small population of District 12. Usually the Feasting is on a different day for each district so that family or friends can come from other districts to join in. This year, Annie is coming from District 4. We see her across the plaza and hurry over to see her. I hug Annie, then Finn. It was a shock to all of us when Annie announced she was pregnant, only shortly after Finnick's death. It's sad he never got to meet his son, or never even knew he had one. Now 16 and mostly grown, he looks exactly like his father. "Have you seen Haymitch?" I ask them. They shake their heads to indicate that no, they haven't. I wandered through the square, leaving Rue with Annie, to look for Haymitch. I saw Delly Cartwright standing with her husband and children. "Hi Delly, have you seen Haymitch?" I asked. "Yes Katniss, I saw him head towards the Hob a few minutes ago." I sighed. "Thanks Delly." Even though many things sold at the Hob were no longer illegal, it had still become a general marketplace where people could set up stands to sell things. There was only one reason Haymitch would be there, and especially on this day. I ran to the Hob and went straight to Ripper's stall where, just as I suspected, Haymitch was. He saw me and cursed under his breath. He quickly regained his cool and changed his look of surprise into one of calm. "How's it going, sweetheart?" "You promised you'd try." "I did try," he responded. "And I failed," he added with a cocky grin. "You need to stop. If you keep drinking like this, it's going to kill you." I don't know whose horrible idea it was to make alcohol legal again, but ever since, the drinking has gotten worse. Even more so since Peeta left. "Come on, back to the square." I grab Haymitch and make him walk in front of me so he doesn't sneak back to the Hob. We arrive back at the square and find Annie Finn, and Rue just as the festivities begin. The mayor, my old friend Madge, gets up on the stage to make her speech. "District 12," she begins. "We have had to endure many hardships in the past, from starvation, to the Hunger Games, and even the annihilation of our home. But some were able to escape, and we grew back, stronger than ever. No more hunger. No more cruelty. No more injustice. No more oppressive Capitol. This, my friends, is why we celebrate on this day. Enjoy the festivities, but also remember all it took to get us here." She steps away from the podium and people start lining up at the tables for food. I get in line for the table as far away from the dessert table as possible. Nothing has been quite as pretty since he left. The cookies no longer have pretty flowers on them, and the cakes are merely mediocre. Madge comes over and gives me a hug. "Hello. How are you?" The concern in her eyes is deeper than that in her voice. Along with the concern, I could also see pain in her eyes. Peeta touched a lot of people, and was loved by all. Nobody ever thought he would leave. In response, I manage to muster up a small smile. "Better. That's all I can hope for." Madge gives a small smile in return. "Hang in there," she says, patting my arm before she walks away. I ponder all of the thoughts roaming freely in my head. Haymitch's drinking. This sad holiday. Rue, now that her father left us. But the most prominent though of all was why? Why did he leave me? I need to go, to go and see him. I leave Rue with and head towards the woods. Haymitch catches up to me. "Do you want me to come with you?" he asks, suddenly sounding sober. I shake my head. "I need to go alone," he nods, understanding in his eyes. I continue walking. Although I have never gone to see him before, I know exactly where to go. I walk over to it, intimidating marble, cold and dark. A fire at the bakery, that's how it happened. If you think about it, quite a fitting death for The Boy with the Bread. "But you promised," I whisper. "You promised to stay with me,….."

"Always"


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: So originally I did not intend for this to be a multi-chapter story, so I hope you guys like this, and hopefully it turns out okay...and please review, even if you reviewed the first chapter!**

I break down, allowing the sobs to wrack my body, dropping to my knees. Why did he have to leave me? He was always careful, too careful, at the bakery, so how was there a fire so out of control it killed him? I might never know. After allowing myself a few minutes of grief, I pulled myself together and went to find Rue, Annie, Finn, and Haymitch. They are sitting at one of the tables eating plates of lamd stew. I notice an extra plate piled twice as high as the others, and with extra plums on top, obviously intended for me. I sit down and begin to eat my stew.

"Katniss, where is your Mother?" Finn asked. Ever since Prim's death, my Mother has been even more involved with helping people, traveling to different districts to visit patients injured from war, people who lost loved ones, children who are parentless. "She's in District 11 helping to build another hospital. They have so many people, and the population just keeps growing. She left two months ago and will be returning later today." My Mother left right before Peeta's death, and has been informed of the news by letter. I told her there was no need to come home, I had Haymitch and Rue. I wouldn't allow anyone to disrupt their lives to comfort me, I didn't want their pity. Finn nodded, satisfied with my answer. He was protective of all the women in his life he cared about, including me and also Johanna, who lives with them back in District 4. We all eat our lamb stew make polite conversation, not an easy task when Annie is prone to flashbacks and Haymitch is generally antisocial. After a few more hours of "celebration" we say goodbye to Annie and Finn and I walk back home with Rue, Haymitch having left early.

Rue and I walk into the house and are greeted by the smell of rabbit stew, the sound of a crackling fire, and the sight of my Mother sitting at the table waiting for us. She smiles at Rue and gives her a big hug, but when she turns her eyes to me I notice a peculiar expression cross her face, before she returns to a smile even bigger than the first. "Katniss, honey," she begins calmly, "how are you feeling?" My confusion must show on my face because then she continues, "has your stomach felt odd at all?" "Well, I was sick yesterday morning, but other than that, I feel fine,why?" I answer. "Katniss, honey...I think you're pregnant."

**A/N:You didn't think I forgot that they had two kids, did you?Review please, 5 reviews for the story and I'll post another (longer!) chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Sorry this chapter is so short again...maybe some more reviews would make for longer chapters?:) So review, and spread the word, get more people to read!I will post the next chapter when there are 10 reviews...do you guys like where the story is going so far? What do you think? Any suggestions?And REVIEW!(Pretty please!)**

I stood there, momentarily stunned. Pregnant? I couldn't deal with this, not without Peeta. I barely made it through the first pregnancy! When I felt Rue in my stomach, moving and kicking, it frightened me more than anything, more than the Games even. I owed it to this child to protect it, and what if I couldn't? What if I failed? As much as I've tried, I haven't been able to protect anyone I love, not enough to save them. Fate always finds a way to tear tear them away from me, and with each person, my heart breaks a littile more. It breaks my heart to think that Peeta, only dead for a month, will never get to know his second child, or even that he has one. Tears threaten to spill onto my cheeks but I save them for when I'm alone.

The next morning the nausea is back, and I barely make it to the trash can in time. Mother guesses I am about 3 or 4 months pregnant, though I haven't gained much weight. The nausea seems to be the only thing affecting me, although yesterday I did get a craving for cheese buns with strawberry jam. I figure I should start telling people, so I figure I'll begin with Rue.

I walk into Rue's room, where she is palying with a threadbare doll. I sit down on the floor next to her. Rue is only 6, so she didn't understand what pregnant meant when I was talking to my Mother yesterday. "Rue, honey, there is something I want to tell you," I begin. She looks up at my sweetly with those pretty blue eyes, clutching her doll to her chest. "Yes?" she answers. "I'm going to have a baby, so you will have a little brother or sister to play with." At this, she was all smiles, and I sighed with relief. "You're happy about this?" I ask, hopeful. "Yes, because Daddy will come back to see the baby, won't he?" My heart broke at her innocence, thinking her Daddy will come back from death, and believing he is choosing not to be with her. "Honey, we talked about this. Daddy isn't coming back, he's gone, he died. He can't come back." At this, her lip began to tremble, and tears began running down her face. "B-but I want him to come back," she sobbed, crying into her doll. She ran outside, still crying to go sit under her favorite apple tree. My Mother, having witnessed most of this, put her hand on my shoulder. "Let her go," she said, "she'll be fine."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you to those of you who keep reading and reviewing! So, this isn't one of my best chapters, but I hope you enjoy and review!**

The next day, I'm sitting under the tree in the yard when Rue comes out, doll in hand, to sit with me. I sit her in my lap and hug her. After yesterday, I was careful talking about the baby in front of her. She looks up at me and says, "The baby won't have a Daddy, like me?" I nod, trying not to let tears flood my eyes. "Well then I'll just have to be a good sister to make up for that, " she replied, then smiled satisfied with herself. She was so strong and selfless, even at this young age. It reminds me of how I was, though she certainly doesn't have to deal with some of the issues I dealt with. I kiss the top of her head then respond, "That's my girl. What do you think the baby should be, a boy or a girl?" She looks thoughtful for a moment then responds, "A boy, so he can be a Daddy some day." I nod. I would like a boy, a little Peeta to be all mine. "Well, we can talk more later, but now, I have to get you to school!" She smiles. School is Rue's favorite place. Every day, she comes home and tells me stories about her classmates, how Marvin Cartwright ate chalk and had to leave school early, or how they learned about different types of coal or how to make a birdhouse.

We walk along the path to the town square, where the school is. I drop her off and wave goodbye as she runs inside, as I do every day. I spend the day gardening. I've found it's quite a relaxing hobby, and when I harvest the fruits and vegetables I grow, I hand them out in the town square. It feels good to help people, to give away food to the poor, although nobody is starving like when I was young. After picking what I have for the day, I head to the square, to the area where the poor work during the day, the ones who can't work and need help.

When I get there, I see there is only one person there today, a young man of about eighteen or nineteen. I go to sit on the bench next to him, and he looks up, with sad eyes that show a flicker of recognition. "Why are you not down in the mines? I ask him. He doesn't appear to have any physical issues that would keep him from being in the mines. He looks at me for a moment before he replies, "I have trouble breathing underground, especially with all the coal dust in the air." I nod, then take my basket of vegetables (today potatoes) and hand it to him. "Here. You need these more than I do." He looks at me, fighting with his pride, contemplating if he should take my charity or not. Finally his pride gives in and he takes the basket. "Thank you, " he says. "I wish there was some way I could repay you." I smile. "No thanks necessary." I get up and begin to head back to the house to have some lunch before I pick Rue up from school.

As I walk back to the school after lunch, from farther away I notice a large crowd of people in the square, which is odd. As I get closer, I see the large crowd is in front of the school, and about half of the crowd is the children, who should be inside. I look at the school, which is filled with flames and smoke, and gasp. I run the rest of the way to the crowd, frantically searching for Rue. I need to know she's okay. My job to protect her, always to protect someone. I'm looking through all of the kids and I can't find her, she's not here. I look up at the school and see a tiny, frightened face in a window on the second floor, a face I know too well. "Rue!" I scream.

**A/N:So what do you think? I ended it there for a reason, which you will see next chapter. By the way, if anybody has any ideas for the story, feel free to message me! Also, spread the word about this story!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: First off, sorry I took so long to update! I hope you guys enjoy your new chapter, but I want to get 20 reviews before I add more so read, review, and recommend this to others! Enjoy!**

**P.S.-I do not own The Hunger Games or any of the characters!**

**Rue's POV**

I stand there, coughing, choking. My chest hurts, my head hurts, everything hurts. There's smoke, lots of smoke, all over. Stinging my eyes, choking me. And fire, with heat radiating from it, burning my skin. All the other kids made it outside, but I tried to save the class pet, a bird named Azalea. Somehow they forgot about me when they were doing checks and headcounts. Woozy, I manage to stumble over to the window. I see all of the kids outside, and a group of people watching the fire. I see my Mother, yelling, screaming for me. I see people running. I see black as I pass out and hit the ground.

**Katniss' POV**

I scream her name again, "RUE!" I see her fall, disappear from view, making me scream louder. I start to run, as fast as I can in my pregnant state towards the building. Haymitch grabs me, drunk but still sensible enough to realize a pregnant woman running into a burning building isn't a good idea, even if it is me. "Are you crazy? You can't go in there! You'll hurt the baby, and yourself!" "I don't see anyone else volunteering, so I have to do it myself," I growl back at him, pulling free and running closer to the building. Before I get close, a young man stops me. It takes me a minute but I recognize him as the young man from the square earlier in the day, the one who can't breathe in the mines. "Where is she?" he asks. "On the second floor, by that window," I respond, "But-" before I can tell him not to go in there because he'll have a harder time breathing than in the mines, he dashes off into the burning building.

After minutes there is no sign of the man or Rue, and I worry that I not only lost my daughter, but also a man brave enough to put a little girl's life before his own. Just as I begin to lose hope, an ash-covered figure stumbles out of the burning building with a lump over his shoulder, and collapses a few feet away from the building. A few men run over to pull the man far enough away from the building and I run over to the lump, my sweet little lump! My Mother rushes over carrying many of her medical supplies which she puts to use on Rue, who is breathing but unconscious. Another medical expert, Gelda, begins to help the man who saved my daughter, a man who I owe everything to, yet I know nothing about, not even his name.

I wait, holding my breath, to see how Rue is, and also the man. My mother manages to resuscitate Rue, who begins crying. I hold her close to me and let her cry, my beautiful baby who is smart but yet still innocent, still a child. I notice she is clutching a beautiful red bird, and even when unconscious she was still able to hold on to her, their class pet. She opens her hands and lets the bird go. He flies up and lands on a tree branch, then chirps happily, which makes her smile. Since she is awake and well, I leave her and go to check on the man who saved her life. He is awake but gasping and coughing, clearly having trouble breathing. I kneel down next to him and hug him so tightly that I'm afraid I'll impair his breathing even more. "What's your name?" I ask him. He coughs again, then manages to sputter out, "Jackson. Jackson Whitfield". I look at him solemnly. "Jackson Whitfield, I will never be able to repay you for what you did for me today. Never." He coughs a bit more then looks at me, admiration in his eyes. "I would do anything to repay the woman who set us all free." I blush, uncomfortable at the praise. "I was just the face. There were a lot of people who did a lot more than I did. All I did was cause a lot of trouble." He looks like he doesn't really believe this but nods anyway, and continues to let Gelda tend to him. I walk back over to Rue, and notice Haymitch watching me. Ever since I told him about the baby, right after I told Rue, he seems to have been watching me more closely. Maybe because he doesn't want me to do anything stupid and accidentally hurt myself or the baby, and since there's no Peeta to watch me any longer, he has to. I march over to Haymitch, who seems to be only mildly drunk for once. "Why are you staring at me?" I ask, expecting him to smirk and shoot a cocky answer back at me, but for once he looks serious. "Why are you talking to him?" he asks. "He saved Rue's life!" I shout, angry at his ungratefulness. "Stay away from that man," he replies forebodingly, then walks away leaving me angry and stunned that he thinks he can forbid me from doing anything. I'll show him!

**A/N:So, what did you guys think?Review! What do you think should happen between Jackson and Katniss? Let me know if you have ideas, and remember, 20 reviews before the next chapter!**


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